6 Profitable B2B SaaS Ideas Found in the Wild (2025) | Rob Walling | MicroConf Podcast Notes

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Building a successful SaaS business doesn't always require chasing the next billion-dollar unicorn. Sometimes, the most profitable opportunities are hiding in plain sight – in Reddit threads, forum posts, and conversations where real business owners are desperately seeking solutions to their daily problems.

I recently watched Rob Walling's deep dive into six B2B SaaS ideas he discovered while researching Reddit threads, and it got me thinking about the untapped potential in vertical niches. As someone passionate about bootstrapped SaaS businesses, I found his approach fascinating: instead of brainstorming in isolation, he went directly to where business owners are expressing real pain points and asking for solutions.

These aren't get-rich-quick schemes or Silicon Valley moonshots.

They're practical problems that real businesses face every day – the kind that could generate $2,000 to $10,000+ in monthly recurring revenue and potentially replace a full-time salary.

What struck me most about Walling's analysis was how he evaluated each idea not just for its market potential, but for its viability as a sustainable, profitable business.

Here are my detailed thoughts on each of the six ideas he discussed, along with my analysis of their market potential, ideal customer profiles, and go-to-market strategies.

1. Inventory Management for Custom Apparel Businesses

The Idea & Background

This opportunity emerged from a small custom apparel company that creates products for artists, musicians, and other businesses. They needed software that could track component apparel (blank shirts, hats, hoodies), integrate with Shopify, create barcodes for one-of-a-kind items sold at events, and manage work-in-progress inventory like a white t-shirt that's been tie-dyed and awaits embroidery.

The original poster mentioned that while they don't expect free software, $100 per month might be too expensive for their current situation, though they acknowledged it might be necessary.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Small to medium custom apparel businesses (5-50 employees) that:

Create custom designs for artists, musicians, and businesses

Sell through multiple channels (e-commerce, events, bulk orders)

Handle made-to-order production

Manage complex inventory with components and work-in-progress items

Secondary Target: Screen printing shops, embroidery businesses, promotional product companies

Pain Points to Solve

Inventory Chaos: Tracking components across multiple product lines and stages of production

Channel Fragmentation: Managing inventory across Shopify, event sales, and bulk orders

Event Management: Creating barcodes and SKUs for one-off items at markets and trade shows

Work-in-Progress Tracking: Managing items in various stages of customization

Cost Allocation: Understanding true costs when components are used across different products

Potential Pricing Options

Tiered SaaS Model:

Starter: $39/month - Basic inventory tracking, Shopify integration, up to 1,000 SKUs

Professional: $79/month - Event management tools, barcode generation, up to 5,000 SKUs

Enterprise: $149/month - Advanced reporting, unlimited SKUs, API access

Transaction-Based Add-ons:

$0.10 per barcode generated for events

$0.05 per inventory sync across channels

Revenue Projections

With 100 customers averaging $75/month: $7,500 MRR ($90,000 ARR) With 500 customers averaging $85/month: $42,500 MRR ($510,000 ARR)

The custom apparel market is fragmented with thousands of small businesses, making this achievable within 2-3 years with focused execution.

Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing: Create inventory management guides specifically for custom apparel businesses

Trade Show Presence: Attend apparel and promotional product trade shows

Integration Partnerships: Partner with Shopify app store, event management platforms

Industry Publications: Advertise in custom apparel trade magazines

Referral Program: Incentivize existing customers to refer other apparel businesses

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: Most businesses use a combination of QuickBooks, spreadsheets, and basic inventory tools that aren't designed for the unique workflows of custom apparel.

Differentiation Strategy:

Vertical Specialization: Built specifically for custom apparel workflows

Event Integration: Seamless barcode generation and event inventory management

Work-in-Progress Tracking: Understanding that inventory moves through multiple stages

Multi-Channel Native: Designed from the ground up for businesses selling everywhere

2. Ticketing System Integration for MSPs

The Idea & Background

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) face a constant headache when dealing with multiple external ticketing systems from their clients. When clients use platforms like TopDesk, Fresh Service, or ServiceNow without API integration, all communication happens via email, creating formatting inconsistencies, auto-reply loops, and requiring extensive manual ticket management.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Small to medium MSPs (10-100 employees) that:

Manage IT services for multiple clients

Deal with clients using different ticketing systems

Spend significant time on manual ticket management

Have clients without API access or budget for custom integrations

Secondary Target: Large MSPs looking to streamline operations for specific client segments

Pain Points to Solve

Email Formatting Hell: Each client's ticketing system sends emails in wildly different formats

Auto-Reply Loops: Systems creating endless response cycles that clog workflows

Manual Labor: Constantly merging responses, assigning tickets, and identifying duplicates

Fragile Customizations: Custom email rules breaking when clients make system changes

Lack of Visibility: Difficulty tracking ticket status across multiple client systems

Potential Pricing Options

Per-Client Integration Model:

Basic: $25/month per client integration - Email parsing and basic automation

Professional: $45/month per client integration - Advanced rules, duplicate detection

Enterprise: $75/month per client integration - Custom workflows, API fallbacks

Volume Discounts:

5-10 integrations: 10% discount

11-25 integrations: 20% discount

25+ integrations: 30% discount

Revenue Projections

MSP with 10 client integrations at $35/month average: $350 MRR per customer With 50 MSP customers: $17,500 MRR ($210,000 ARR) With 200 MSP customers: $70,000 MRR ($840,000 ARR)

Marketing Strategy

MSP Community Engagement: Active participation in MSP forums and groups

Partner Channel: Partnerships with MSP software vendors and consultants

Case Studies: Document time and cost savings for existing customers

Industry Events: Sponsor and speak at MSP conferences

LinkedIn Outreach: Direct outreach to MSP owners and operations managers

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: Most MSPs build fragile email rules and filters or hire developers for custom solutions.

Differentiation Strategy:

MSP-Specific Workflows: Built specifically for MSP operational needs

Intelligent Email Parsing: AI-powered parsing that adapts to different email formats

Auto-Reply Prevention: Smart detection and prevention of email loops

Zero Client Setup: Works without requiring any changes to client systems

ROI Tracking: Clear metrics on time saved and efficiency gained

3. ERP for Small Manufacturing Facilities

The Idea & Background

A 30-employee dietary supplement manufacturer needs to upgrade from QuickBooks and spreadsheets to a unified ERP system. They require traceability for every ingredient, change order management, accurate costing with loss and scrap accounting, and processing adjustments for environmental conditions. Current options like Business Central feel too complex and expensive.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Small manufacturing companies (20-100 employees) in regulated industries:

Dietary supplement manufacturers

Food processing facilities

Cosmetics manufacturers

Small pharmaceutical companies

Secondary Target: Manufacturing companies in non-regulated industries needing traceability

Pain Points to Solve

Traceability Requirements: Every ingredient must be tracked from receipt to final shipment

Manual Processes: Spreadsheet management is error-prone and time-consuming

Inaccurate Costing: Difficulty accounting for losses, yields, and scrap

Change Management: No systematic way to handle work order changes

Compliance Reporting: Struggling to meet regulatory reporting requirements

System Integration: Need APIs for BI tools and e-commerce platforms

Potential Pricing Options

Annual Subscription Model:

Essentials: $15,000/year - Core ERP for up to 25 users, basic traceability

Professional: $35,000/year - Advanced traceability, quality management, up to 50 users

Enterprise: $60,000/year - Full compliance suite, unlimited users, custom integrations

Implementation and Training:

One-time setup fee: $10,000-$25,000

Training: $2,000 per session

Revenue Projections

With 20 customers averaging $30,000/year: $600,000 ARR With 50 customers averaging $35,000/year: $1,750,000 ARR

This is a high-value, low-volume business model with significant revenue potential per customer.

Marketing Strategy

Industry Associations: Partner with supplement and food manufacturing associations

Regulatory Content: Create compliance guides and regulatory update content

Trade Publications: Advertise in industry magazines and newsletters

Webinar Series: Educational content about ERP implementation and compliance

Partner Network: Relationships with manufacturing consultants and system integrators

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: NetSuite, Business Central, and industry-specific ERPs that are often overcomplicated and expensive for small manufacturers.

Differentiation Strategy:

SMB-Focused: Designed specifically for small manufacturing operations

Industry-Specific: Built-in understanding of supplement/food manufacturing workflows

Compliance-First: Regulatory requirements built into core workflows

Reasonable Pricing: Significantly less expensive than enterprise solutions

Rapid Implementation: Faster deployment than traditional ERP systems

4. Client Portal for Retail Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

The Idea & Background

A brick-and-mortar retailer needs a client portal for custom-ordered products with 1-2 year lead times. Everything is made-to-order and sourced globally. They need customer login portals, approval workflows, contract signing, invoicing, file management, and integration capabilities.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Custom product retailers with long lead times:

High-end furniture stores

Custom jewelry retailers

Architectural product dealers

Specialty equipment suppliers

Custom manufacturing retailers

Key Characteristics:

Average order value: $5,000+

Lead times: 6 months to 2+ years

Complex approval processes

Multiple stakeholders per order

Pain Points to Solve

Customer Communication: Keeping clients informed during long production cycles

Approval Bottlenecks: Streamlining approval processes for custom orders

File Management: Organizing drawings, specifications, and progress photos

Payment Processing: Managing deposits, progress payments, and final payments

Status Transparency: Giving customers visibility into order progress

Document Storage: Secure storage and sharing of contracts and specifications

Potential Pricing Options

Per-Location Pricing:

Single Location: $199/month - Up to 100 active orders, basic portal features

Multi-Location: $349/month - Up to 500 active orders, advanced workflows

Enterprise: $599/month - Unlimited orders, white-label options, API access

Transaction Fees:

$2.99 per contract signed through the platform

2.9% + $0.30 per payment processed

Revenue Projections

With 50 customers averaging $275/month: $13,750 MRR ($165,000 ARR) With 200 customers averaging $300/month: $60,000 MRR ($720,000 ARR)

Marketing Strategy

Industry Trade Shows: Attend furniture, jewelry, and specialty retail trade shows

Retailer Associations: Partner with specialty retail associations

Case Studies: Document improvements in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency

Referral Program: Incentivize existing customers to refer other retailers

Content Marketing: Create guides about managing custom orders and customer experience

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: Most businesses use a combination of email, phone calls, and basic project management tools.

Differentiation Strategy:

Retail-Specific Workflows: Built for the unique needs of custom product retailers

Long-Term Project Focus: Designed for projects spanning months or years

Customer-Facing Design: Beautiful, professional portals that enhance brand image

Payment Integration: Built-in payment processing for complex payment schedules

Mobile Optimization: Customers can check status and approve changes from anywhere

5. Media Asset Management for Content Creators

The Idea & Background

A solo content creator is wasting hours sifting through b-roll footage and re-shooting content because they can't find or remember what assets they have. Current solutions like Kyno (discontinued) and Vidue are either dead or clunky. They want something simple, budget-friendly, and preferably a one-time purchase rather than a subscription.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Solo content creators and small creative teams:

YouTube creators

Social media influencers

Freelance videographers

Small marketing agencies

Podcast producers

Key Characteristics:

Managing 1-10TB of video content

Limited budget for tools

Need offline access to content

Value simplicity over advanced features

Pain Points to Solve

Time Wasted Searching: Hours spent looking for specific b-roll or footage

Duplicate Content: Re-shooting footage that already exists

Poor Organization: Relying on folder structures that become unwieldy

Limited Metadata: Difficulty adding descriptions and tags to video files

Offline Access: Need to work with content stored on external drives

Preview Performance: Slow preview generation for large video files

Potential Pricing Options

Given the budget-conscious nature of this market, pricing needs to be aggressive:

Freemium Model:

Free: Up to 500 assets, basic tagging

Creator: $19/month - Up to 10,000 assets, advanced search, AI tagging

Pro: $39/month - Unlimited assets, team collaboration, API access

Alternative One-Time Model:

Lifetime License: $199 one-time - Full featured version with free updates for 2 years

Revenue Projections

With 1,000 customers averaging $25/month: $25,000 MRR ($300,000 ARR) With 5,000 customers averaging $22/month: $110,000 MRR ($1,320,000 ARR)

This market requires volume to be profitable due to price sensitivity.

Marketing Strategy

Creator Communities: Engage with YouTube creator forums and Discord servers

Content Marketing: Create productivity content for video creators

Influencer Partnerships: Partner with mid-tier creators for authentic reviews

Platform Integration: Integrate with popular editing software

Free Tool Strategy: Offer free versions of the tool to build user base

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: Adobe Bridge, basic finder tools, or expensive professional DAM systems.

Differentiation Strategy:

Creator-Specific Features: Built specifically for video content workflows

Affordable Pricing: Significantly cheaper than professional DAM solutions

Offline-First: Works seamlessly with external drives and offline storage

Fast Preview Generation: Optimized for quick video preview and scrubbing

Simple Interface: Prioritizes ease of use over advanced features

Note: While this idea has merit, the preference for one-time payments and budget constraints make it challenging for sustainable SaaS growth.

6. Museum Cataloging App for Historical Societies

The Idea & Background

Small historical societies need an affordable, mobile-capable museum cataloging solution. Current options like Past Perfect cost over $1,000 and lack mobile functionality. They need volunteer-friendly mobile apps that can upload to a central database, with pricing based on monthly active users rather than named users.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Primary Target: Small to medium historical societies and museums:

Local historical societies

Small museums (under 10,000 artifacts)

Community heritage organizations

Religious historical collections

School district archives

Key Characteristics:

Limited budgets (under $5,000/year for software)

Heavy reliance on volunteers

Need mobile access for cataloging

Basic database and export requirements

Pain Points to Solve

Expensive Software: Current solutions cost too much for small organizations

Mobile Limitations: Existing tools don't work well on mobile devices

Volunteer Access: Difficulty giving temporary access to changing volunteer base

Limited IT Resources: Need simple, self-service solutions

Data Export: Must be able to export data to spreadsheets for grants and reports

Photo Management: Need integrated photo storage and organization

Potential Pricing Options

Monthly Active User Model:

Starter: $29/month - Up to 3 active users, 1,000 artifacts

Community: $59/month - Up to 10 active users, 5,000 artifacts

Society: $99/month - Up to 25 active users, unlimited artifacts

Enterprise: $199/month - Unlimited users, advanced features, API access

Non-Profit Discounts: 20% discount for registered 501(c)(3) organizations

Revenue Projections

With 200 customers averaging $70/month: $14,000 MRR ($168,000 ARR) With 800 customers averaging $85/month: $68,000 MRR ($816,000 ARR)

With 3,000-4,500 historical societies in the US, plus international markets, this is achievable.

Marketing Strategy

Historical Associations: Partner with state and national historical associations

Conference Presence: Attend museum and historical society conferences

Grant Writing Support: Create resources for organizations applying for digitization grants

Referral Network: Build relationships with museum consultants and archivists

Educational Content: Create cataloging best practices guides and webinars

Competitive Landscape & Differentiation

Current Solutions: Past Perfect ($1,000+), custom IT solutions, or basic spreadsheets.

Differentiation Strategy:

Affordable Pricing: Significantly less expensive than existing professional solutions

Mobile-First Design: Built specifically for volunteer use on personal devices

Flexible User Management: Monthly active user pricing accommodates volunteer turnover

Simple Setup: Self-service onboarding without IT requirements

Non-Profit Focus: Designed specifically for the constraints of non-profit organizations

Key Takeaways

After analyzing these six opportunities, several patterns emerge:

Vertical Niches Win: Each successful idea targets a specific industry with unique workflows that general-purpose tools can't adequately address.

Price Sensitivity Varies Dramatically: B2B manufacturing can support $30,000+ annual contracts, while content creators balk at $100/month.

Integration is Critical: Nearly every idea requires integration with existing tools (Shopify, QuickBooks, etc.) that businesses already use.

Mobile Matters: Several opportunities specifically call out the need for mobile-friendly solutions that work for field workers and volunteers.

Validation is Everything: As Rob Walling emphasized, finding one person with a problem doesn't define a market. Each of these ideas requires thorough validation before committing resources.

The most promising opportunities from this list are the MSP ticketing integration and the small manufacturing ERP, both of which address expensive problems for customers who can afford to pay meaningful monthly fees. The least promising might be the content creator tool, primarily due to price sensitivity and preference for one-time payments.

What makes this research valuable isn't just the specific ideas, but the methodology: finding real people expressing real problems they're willing to pay to solve. That's the foundation of any successful SaaS business.

Watch Rob’s video here -